The administration’s domestic, legal, and foreign policy justifications for capturing the Venezuelan president are in tension.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Image Does NOT Show Real CBS News Report That Gabbard Thwarted A Rep. Jeffries Attempt To Tip Off Maduro — It’s Rage Bait
Does a viral image show a real news report saying that U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' office "tried to tip off" Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro before his capture? No, that's not true: No such report could be found. Neither CBS N
Lead Stories→ Lead Stories’ Top Debunks Of 2025: Charlie Kirk, Jeffrey Epstein, And What Trump Did NOT Say
False claims about the Charlie Kirk assassination, the Jeffrey Epstein files, and purported verbal gaffes by President Trump topped the list of most-read Lead Stories fact checks in 2025. Here are our most read fact checks of the past yea
The Dispatch→ Zohran Mamdani May Be a Socialist, but Islam Is Not
Plus: Ben Sasse’s greatest lesson.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Satirical California ‘Rep. Jack Kimble’ Post About Other Countries Considering Invading U.S. Over Corrupt President Is NOT Real
Did Republican representative Jack Kimble make a post about other countries potentially invading the U.S. "if we ever had" a "highly corrupt leader" as President? No, that's not true: The post was satire from an account on X that pretends
The Dispatch→ Ben Sasse’s Greatest Lesson
In facing death, Sasse points the way to the life to come.
PolitiFact→ Fact-checking Donald Trump following U.S. attacks on Venezuela and capture of Nicolás Maduro
Fact-checking Trump comments on Venezuela attacks, Maduro
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Viral Image of ‘Captured Maduro’ Is NOT Real — Maduro’s Head Was Digitally Attached To Body Of Ukrainian Businessman Known For Ties With Putin
Does a viral image show Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro captured? No, that's not true: An authentic photo was digitally altered to swap Maduro's head onto the body of a captive. The image originally showed Ukrainian-born pro-Russian businessm
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Viral Video Does NOT Show Caracas, Venezuela Under Missile Bombardment — 2025 Israel Footage
Does a viral video show missiles raining down from the clouds on Caracas, Venezuela on January 3, 2026? No, that's not true: A viral video making the rounds does not show the actual attacks that took place on that date. It is an old video
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: California And Colorado Are NOT ‘Top Outbound States’ With People Leaving — Trump Cites Questionable Source
Are California and Colorado at the top of the list of states losing population as more people leave than move there? No, that's not true: The latest statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show that California lost population in 2020 and
The Dispatch→ Bidding Farewell to 2025
A selection of our best longform pieces from a long, long year.
The Dispatch→ The Warmth of Collectivism | Solo
Oh boy.
The Dispatch→ What Betty Friedan Got Wrong About Motherhood
Parenting can foster an intellectual life no less inspiring than one outside the home.
The Dispatch→ A Strange Ending for ‘Stranger Things’
Eleven’s ambiguous fate does the show (and its viewers) a disservice.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: FBI, ICE Did NOT Raid Yacht Near Miami & Rescue 34 Students Sex-Trafficked By A Harvard Professor
Did the FBI and ICE bust a sex-trafficking ring organized by a Harvard or Georgetown professor who recruited students to perform sex work on a luxury yacht off Miami? No, that's not true: The YouTube channel where the claim originated dis
The Dispatch→ Collectivism, Warmed Over
On Zohran Mamdani and ignorance of the past.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Iran’s Crown Prince-In-Exile Reza Pahlavi Being Cheered In Egypt In January 2026 — It’s The UK in 2023 Amid Protests In Iran
Does a video show Iran's crown prince-in-exile Reza Pahlavi being cheered in Cairo, Egypt, as protests in Iran intensified in January 2026? No, that's not true: The video shows Pahlavi being cheered in Oxford, England in February 2023. A
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Photo Shared By President Trump In ‘Eagles Going Down’ Post Is NOT An Eagle — It’s A European Red Kite
Does an image shared by President Trump in a Truth Social post that reads "Eagles going down!" show an American eagle killed by a wind turbine? No, that's not true: The photograph used to illustrate Trump's post is of a European red kite
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: BMW Did NOT Introduce A ‘One-Wheel Ride’ At The Tech Expo 2026 — The Power Unicycle Video Is AI-Generated
Did BMW launch a motorized unicycle at the 2026 Tech Expo? No, that's not true: The AI-generated video was published by a channel with a disclaimer that they "explore the future of technology, artificial intelligence, and robotics." This
The Dispatch→ Bastard Century
The 21st century’s quarter-life crisis.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Chart Does NOT Show Drug Overdose Deaths ‘Dropped Off A Cliff’ in 2025 Under Trump — It Was Biden in ’24
Does a medical study chart show that drug overdose deaths in the United States sharply declined in 2025 under President Trump? No, that's not true: The chart is based on a medical study published in June 2025 that looked at drug death sta
The Dispatch→ Create a Path for Taiwanese to Flee to America
Doing so could help deter war.
The Dispatch→ What We Got Wrong in December
A list of corrections issued by The Dispatch last month.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Windmills Are NOT Killing ‘All Of Our Beautiful Bald Eagles’ As Claimed By President Trump — Post Shows Israeli Falcon
Are windmills -- also known as wind turbines -- killing all of the bald eagles in the United States, as President Donald Trump claimed in a Truth Social post? No, that's not true: Studies estimate the number of eagles killed by wind turbi
The Dispatch→ Watching the American Right Rip Its Face Off | Interview: Chris Stirewalt
Is Kamala Harris the worst politician of the year?
The Dispatch→ What the Fall of the Whigs Can Teach Republicans—and Democrats
Understanding the historical parallels between Andrew Jackson and Donald Trump.
The Dispatch→ From Ally to Aggressor
What Trump’s designs on Greenland say about America’s changing role in the world.
The Dispatch→ Good Night, Janus
Two views of the New Year.
The Dispatch→ Ben Sasse and the Path Not Taken
What the former senator has given to our politics.
The Dispatch→ The King’s Court
Of course performers should boycott the Kennedy Center.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Sweet Angel Child Care Phone Number Does NOT Dial Minnesota Governor Walz’s Office
Does Sweet Angel Child Care's phone number dial directly to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's office? No, that's not true: The child care center's phone number as listed on the state licensing website and several other online directories does not
AllSides→ Did Stephen Colbert launch sanctuary for abandoned and abused dogs?
Did Stephen Colbert launch sanctuary for abandoned and abused dogs? gabe Tue, 12/30/2025 - 11:10 Read more about Did Stephen Colbert launch sanctuary for abandoned and abused dogs? CLAIM: In December 2025, late-night talk show ho
The Dispatch→ The Best Books and Albums of 2025
The Dispatch team reflects on its favorite music and books of the year.
The Dispatch→ The Best of 2025 | Roundtable
Plus: The roundtable's New Years resolutions for 2026.
The Dispatch→ When AI Chatbots Become Accomplices
Concern is growing about would-be attackers turning to AI.
The Dispatch→ The Red Dream That Won’t Stay Buried
Lessons from the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror.
The Dispatch→ The Worst of Both Worlds for Campus Free Speech
The biggest threat to speech used to come from within higher ed. Now it’s the government.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: Archived Page Of A 1996 Melania Trump Profile On A Mail-Order Bride Website Is NOT Real — Copied From Another Woman’s Page
Is an archived page of a Melania Trump profile on "A Foreign Affair" mail-order bride website from 1996 real? No, that's not true: The purported page was never archived on the Wayback Machine servers, Internet Archive director Mark Graham
The Dispatch→ ‘Garfield’ Minus Garfield
Christian politics without Christ.
Lead Stories→ Fact Check: A Full-Body Bronze Statue On Hollywood Walk Of Fame Was NOT Erected For Streisand, Cher, Dolly Nor Novak Djokovic — Spam From Vietnam
Were Novak Djokovic, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Dolly Parton and dozens of other celebrities each honored with a full-body bronze statue on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? No, that's not true: The exact same story, usually just altered by changi